Magical musical moment

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.  Instead of my usual thousand words, I thought I’d keep the words to a minimum and share this incredible photograph courtesy of professional photographer, Lori Compas.  Lori was at our music night at the museum fundraiser and captured some of the magic with her camera.  You can’t hear the beautiful music, but you can see the intensity on Bill Camplin’s face here.  Bill, Satchel, and Randy each demonstrated their unique talents.  Their outstanding performances, varied musical selections, and rapport with the audience made for a show I will never forget.  I had goosebumps.

Thank you to Bill, Satchel, and Randy for sharing their talents with our library.  The fundraiser was successful beyond anyone’s expectations.  We raised over $4,500 for the library’s Foster Growth building fund.

Thank you to the staff of the Cafe Carpe, Pat Belt, Maria Perez-Hametta, Kori Oberle, the museum staff…and all the other kind people who helped.   We are grateful to those who donated prizes for the raffle and everyone who bought tickets to the raffle and for the event.

Left to right: Randy Sabien, Bill Camplin, Satchel Paige

Refining the library’s design so art *can* meet architecture

The view from South Third Street

At the last workshop we discussed window and sill heights and the importance of carrying the tile roofing element  around the south addition from a design perspective.  The practical reality is that we can’t drop the windows low enough to see a top arch on the windows in that area.  So we pared down from three on each end to one arched window on each side of the bowed area. Because there will be fewer arched windows, we can afford to provide more architectural detail on the ones that remain.  During the workshop, Del Wilson (of Uihlein-Wilson Architects) described the importance of art meeting architecture…and we found a way to do that. 

If you’d like to see the updated interior plans you can do that at our library’s website here.  We also have them on display at the library.  The changes continue to evolve as a result of important input from many.  Thank you to all who have had a hand in recommending, revising, refining…helping us write our library’s story.

Giving is as easy as ABC…or is it BGZ?

Being a librarian, I’m naturally an ABC kinda gal.  I like alphabetic order.  I like order in general.   Much of life follows a certain order.   A capital campagin certainly does.  First you do your homework.  Then you talk with potential major donors.  Then you turn things over to the community and hope the citizens will respond by giving.

We turned the page on our capital campaign last week, kicking off the public phase of our Foster Growth campaign.  We had great media coverage at the event.  Thank you to James Debilzen of the Daily Jefferson County Union (click on the link to read about it) and Michael Clish of WFAW.   We appreciate the story by Barry Adams in the Wisconsin State Journal too.

So now it’s your turn.  We sincerely (and gratefully) hope you will consider helping Foster Growth in Fort Atkinson.  We’ve been working on ways to make giving as easy as ABC.   Our brochure has a super easy tear-off panel.  Just fill out the form on the back and either attach a check or pledge an amount for future giving.  (We accept pledges over a three year period.)   The brochure (please note: this link takes you to the PDF of the brochure but it does take quite awhile to download) is available on the web site and, of course, inside the library.  Soon we’ll be taking the brochures out into the community and mailing them as well.

You may also donate using your credit card.  Simply go to our library’s web site and click on the Building Project tab.  Click the donate button and you will be taken to the Fort Atkinson Community Foundation’s web site to make your donation to the library fund.

If you’d like to learn more about our project, the plans and the renderings are now on our website.  You can click on the thumbnail images to see each of them enlarged.  If you would like to see the plans in a really large print format, they are available to view in the library.  Come in and see!  Please remember, though, that the plans are not yet finalized so they are still subject to change.

Giving really is as easy as ABC…or, if you look at the image below, you could say it fits neatly under BGZ.    Gee, the alphabet is a versatile and wonderful thing!

Revising the revisions

Our architectural design workshops are taking place this summer.  During the workshops, the staff from Uihlein Wilson Architects spends two days asking questions and listening to responses.  Then we review and revise.  And then, of course,  review and revise the revisions. (I think it should be noted that all the people on Uihlein Wilson’s team are really good listeners.)

We’ve had great input from many people.  Thank you to everyone for that.  Folks come and go depending on their interest and expertise.   It has been so rewarding to participate in the process of redesigning a library.  Changes are recommended and then displayed on the screen for all to examine.   It’s helpful to see how the suggestion will look in proper context.  More questions are asked and answered.  Another image is displayed.  The architectural team is very patient and always willing to provide an image, discuss an engineering issue, and, of course, remind us to consider the cost/benefit of every decision.  It’s certainly no easy feat to be able to think so specifically and so globally, all at the same time.

And then the workshop is over.  That’s when we shift back into  homework mode.  (The architects have homework and so do we.  Sometimes questions can’t be answered immediately and more research is assigned.)

Thus the evolving design.  We’ve got more work to do but we are moving toward the end of the design process.  This fall the entire plan is slated to be finalized and approved by various officials.

Architect Mark Paschke, of Uihlein Wilson Architects, kindly provided the rendering below.  This view from the south shows how the new part of the building is being incorporated into the old.

It’s important to note that we are still in design mode and, therefore, this is subject to change.  (I believe any good attorney would advise me to offer that caveat.)   With that said, this is where we are today…

Rendering from the south provided by Uihlein Wilson Architects

Planning the library of the future….crystal ball not required

When I was a children’s librarian, sometimes around Halloween I dressed as a fortune teller (calling myself Esmerelda) and used a crystal ball to help me “reveal” fortunes to children.

What a fun event for me.  I think the kids enjoyed it too because the surprise on their faces indicated pure delight as the blank fortune-cookie-sized paper magically transformed with words of good fortune…right before their very eyes.  (I can’t tell you how I did it.  You never know when I’ll be asked to resurrect Esmerelda.)

Over the years, I’ve wished that one could actually use a crystal ball to help plan the future.  It would be much easier to just know exactly what new technologies we can expect over the next 20 years.  We’ve had a great deal of change in our world over the last two decades and the pace of innovation doesn’t seem to be slowing down.  Our library facility needs to expertly respond to changes both tomorrow…and for a good long while.  It’s important to take responsibility for proper planning.

I’ve come to realize that planning never really stops.  If you think about it, our planning for this expansion and renovation began as a part of our building project in 1983.  At that time, the architect designed unfinished spaces and called for utilization of them within 20 years.   Perhaps the architects had a crystal ball when they predicted that because they were remarkably accurate in estimating when we would run out of space.

But many things have changed since then.  Materials certainly are getting smaller.  Miniaturization, digitization, and electronic access are not only the trend, they are the future.

So why do we need to expand?

A well written blog post by Jamie LaRue entitled Imagine the post Kindle public library discusses the reasons very succinctly and accurately.  LaRue’s view is that libraries will always need space for children’s collections, technology, meeting rooms,  servers, displays, and librarians…key people in making sense of it all.

I’d also emphasize that libraries have always been about access to content.  The library is able to provide for the many what many would not be able to provide for themselves.   The format is almost beside the point.  It’s about equitable access to content.  Libraries don’t just bridge the digital divide.  They fill it.

Sometimes access involves physical space, sometimes it doesn’t.  But computers take space just as books do.   Tables take space.  Kindles take space.  And so do people.

Our library building and renovation project is built upon a foundation of self-examination.   We have studied carefully our service needs and our building.  We have done that in the context of our community.   I’m pretty sure I know how to use spreadsheet software better than my crystal ball at this point.

We have looked forward as well, factoring in the changes we anticipate and building in flexibility to accommodate the (as yet) unknown.  Our plan allows for growth in certain collection areas but not all of them.  We are not planning for growth,  for example, in the non-fiction or reference book collections.  We have looked at a whole range of needs including meeting room and seating space, better work-flow, easier way finding, greatly improved accessibility, incorporation of technology for both public and staff, and general (and very critical) infrastructure upgrades.   We plan to capture those unfinished spaces and make them functional.

The actual design is being refined and finalized throughout the summer.    I couldn’t be more pleased with the way the plan is progressing.    Based on a solid understanding of our environment, fundamental commitment to the delivery of excellent library services, and the knowledge that operational flexibility is key…we are planning for our future.   As we’ve been working, we’ve taken stock of what we have and all realize how lucky we are.  We’ve got an unbelievable foundation with historic architectural details that are worthy of  preserving and rediscovering.   It is going to be both a beautiful and functional building!

No one really knows where our world will be in even five years.  But I think it’s safe to say that this library will be right here, providing content to our community and fostering personal growth for our citizens in the best way we know how.

We don’t need a crystal ball to see that.

The Secret Ingredient

I’ve been thinking about recipes lately.  For one thing, our Friends of the Library organization is working on publishing a recipe book to raise funds for our Foster Growth capital campaign.  Stay tuned to hear more about that this Fall.   This is one cookbook you’ll definitely want to own.

You might not know it but our library actually has an outstanding cookbook collection.  If you want to know how to grill it, bake it, cook it, or create it, just mosey on down the 641.5 aisle.

The thing about recipes is that really good cooks/chefs don’t necessarily need them.  And then there are the rest of us.  Not only do I need a recipe, but I find myself following it like it’s a treasure map guiding me to the pot at the end of the rainbow.

In my life, I have been the lucky recipient of some really good recipes.  But none have been more special than the one carefully handed down from my predecessor, Mary Gates.

That would be the recipe for managing a library.

Mary taught me so many things.  She was an incredible leader, in every sense of the word.   She imparted her recipe for running a successful library via the demonstration method.  Every day she showed us all what was important…why it was important…and what “inputs” we needed for a successful “output.”

Think about how many ingredients there might be in a typical recipe for a library.  Virtually all of them are important, almost essential.  However, one ingredient really stands out.  One qualifies as the secret ingredient.

Is the secret ingredient the building?  Must you have a state-of-the-art building to have a great library?  Mary knew how important the physical space was.  She oversaw the expansion of this library in 1983.  She did so with a keen eye and a unwavering determination to the principles of good library business.  The end result has served us well for over 25 years of heavy use.

Because this is a building expansion blog, you might expect me to state that the library building is the secret ingredient.  And while it’s true that the most successful, efficient and effective operation is contingent on well designed space, I am not talking about that at the moment.  That’ll have to be a future post because the building is not the secret ingredient.

So it’s not the size or the quality of the building.  Nor is it the work flow or the layout.  It’s not the automation or the collection or the hours.  It’s not even the funding level.  (I say that because on rare occasions I’ve been to very well funded libraries that appear to be missing the secret ingredient.)

So, yes, all of those ingredients are vital…and interrelated.  But not one of them is the secret ingredient.

Then what in the world is the secret ingredient?

It’s the people.  The secret ingredient is the quality of the staff and volunteers, of course.

It’s secret because if they are doing their jobs well, you almost take them for granted.  But you shouldn’t.  I try hard not to because I know our library would flop without them.  (Like the blueberry muffins I made last week where I forgot to add the eggs to the batter.)

This staff has worn out the carpet because they walk a mile in your shoes.  Every day they make a concerted effort to help those who enter.  They do so with the highest regard for the people we serve.  They do so amidst ringing phone lines, complex questions, technological challenges, and building deficiencies.  They do it with earnestness, grace, and a sense of humor.   I am thankful every day for our library staff’s commitment to our mission.

Additionally, we have a dedicated team of volunteers who help with everything from baking cookies for National Library Week to serving on the capital campaign committee or library board to keeping our shelves in order to selling used books.   Our library is unbelievably fortunate to receive the support of volunteers who give to us so freely…and without regard for compensation.

As we move forward into our building design process, we’ll be investing great effort in planning for the best possible facility for our community’s future.  It’s certainly one of the key ingredients in our recipe.  But it’ll never be more important than the “secret” one that binds it all together.

A big COMMUNITY boost

Fort Community Credit Union delivers a check for $150,000 (Photo courtesy of James Debilzen of the Daily Jefferson County Union)

I’m delighted to report that the Dwight Foster Public Library received a check in the amount of $150,000 for our building project from the Fort Community Credit Union several days ago.  (I rushed to deposit it before the ink was dry!)  The Daily Union was there to report the story.  You can read all about it online at the Daily Union’s web site.

That gives a big boost to our library’s Foster Growth capital campaign in terms of reaching our goal.  It secures naming rights for a community meeting room for the Fort Community Credit Union and allows us to continue to move forward with our plans to improve our library facility.

Thank you, thank you to the Fort Community Credit Union.  Your gift demonstrates your understanding of and commitment to the word “community.”   Your willingness to live your name will be appreciated by many people…for many years to come.

The problems with disappearing ink

Last Tuesday evening, the Fort Atkinson city council approved the contract for services related to the library’s expansion project with Uihlein Wilson Architects.

We are very excited to enter this next chapter and will work diligently to ensure that we move forward in the most thoughtful manner possible.  More about that as the design process unfolds.

I wanted to take a moment to publicly thank James Debilzen, reporter for the Daily Jefferson County Union…as well as all the staff and the Daily Union itself.  James wrote the story about the library’s building project that appeared on the front page of the newspaper the day after the city council meeting.   James not only wrote about what transpired at the meeting, but he also did his research regarding the history of our project which allowed him to write an informative, detailed, and accurate story.

James and I joke about the fact that when he first started work at the Daily Union he was told by staff that he’d have to cover the library’s building project…just like the five reporters before him.

Okay, so we’ve been at this project for quite awhile!

All this time, in fact for its entire history, the Daily Union has had a presence everywhere in the community.  They report on what matters to us.   They ask questions and share information. They hold folks accountable and, more often then not, bring people together.

I’ve been privileged to know most of their staff over the years.  I have yet to find a reporter who wasn’t interested in and passionate about telling our very own local stories.  The Dwight Foster Public Library, the treasure trove of stories, is more than a little thankful that we have an official storyteller among us.

There is enormous value in having a local newspaper.  As “the information place” our library needs the Daily Union to help us provide information to the community.  As a depository for local history, we would not have consistency and depth without them.  The newspaper provides a great community service.  Ventura County (California) sheriff Bob Brooks penned an editorial  in the Ventura County Star that thoughtfully details the many ways in which a local newspaper matters to citizens.

So what can you do?

You can subscribe.  You can advertise.  You can support the advertisers by spending your money with them.

At the library, we’ve made the decision to subscribe to several copies, one for daily reading and one for archival purposes.  We also purchase all of the newspapers on microfilm so that we have a permanent historical record.   We advertise our jobs openings in their classifieds.  As an individual, I support them with a personal subscription, have given it as a gift for others, and read the ads so I can frequent the advertisers in town.

As the world of publishing continues to change and some newspapers across America are ceasing publication, I think it’s vital that we make an effort to support and preserve what matters.  Web sources absolutely have a place at our information table.  A strength of the web is its speed and fluidity.  But that is also a fundamental weakness.  As a librarian, I’m not a fan of the unverified, undocumented or uninformed.  I’m also no fan of copyright infringement, plagiarism, or disappearing information caused by someone else pulling the plug on what’s accessible.  Whenever I think of the “here today, gone tomorrow” possibilities of web information I am reminded of that old childhood prank where you splash someone in specially prepared disappearing ink and…

…discover later (thankfully) it has magically vanished!

But I digress.  All of these troubling activities are happening on the web already.   That isn’t to say there aren’t worthwhile and valuable Intermet resources available (with unparalleled connectivity options) as well as entrepreneurial opportunities with enormous possibility.  What I am trying to convey is that I think as a society we must understand (in a way that spurs action) that worthy content costs money to create, produce, and preserve.

I sincerely hope newspapers will stop disappearing.  We need them to help us not only make sense of our world in the here and now but also to record it (with accountability and permanence) for later.  Newspapers…like libraries…are central to democracy.  They matter.   The Daily Union really matters.

The  disappearing ink thing wasn’t all that funny when I was 12.  It’s a lot less funny now.

Sometimes the less said, the better

Fort Atkinson’s famous poet, Lorine Niedecker, is known for her spare writing style.  She “condensed” her words into ideas that hinted at meanings on multiple levels.  Many consider her one of the most brilliant poets to ever have lived.

When I was a high school student, shelving books here at the library, I was soon introduced to Niedecker’s books of poetry as well as her personal library.  I think the introduction went something like this:  “Here are Lorine’s books.  She’s our famous poet.  Make sure you keep them in order.  Don’t let anyone check any of them out.  They are VERY VALUABLE.”

Immediately I knew that of all the books here those were our most precious.  I was 16 years old at the time and I grew up in Fort Atkinson, but  I had never heard of her before.  It was a complete surprise to me to discover the treasure trove right here in this very building.

Over the years, the people who appreciate (and revere) Lorine have done a marvelous job of spreading the word about her work, talent, and life here on Blackhawk Island.  An upcoming event, Here on Earth with Jean Feraca, on Wisconsin Public Radio, is an example of a unique way her poetry can be shared.

Lorine used to work here at the Dwight Foster Public Library.   She also worked at the Fort Atkinson Memorial Hospital and Hoard’s Dairyman.  I’ve been told that she wanted the library to have her personal collection because she understood what a library means to a community.  We are, after all, the place of words.

As we move forward with our building expansion, we are keenly aware of Lorine’s place in both our library’s history as well as our community’s.  We are “at the table” (thanks to Amy Lutzke) with all things Lorine and remain proud of her significant (and everlasting) contribution to the body of poetry.  We are excited to be able to incorporate her gifts to the world into our expanded library.

Tune in to Jean Feraca’s show (more info about date/time if you follow that link to the program.)  Come in and check out a book of Lorine’s poetry.  Drive out to see her cabin.  See the room at the Hoard Historical Museum. Read about Lorine’s fascinating life.  See the film.  Also, you won’t want to miss the story about Lorine in today’s Daily Jefferson County Union.

Sometimes the less said, the better.  Other times it’s important to spread the good word.

Lorine in the cabin on Blackhawk Island

Embracing our “V”niqueness

For nearly one hundred years, people entering the library here in Fort Atkinson have been admiring the columns and stonework at the entryway of the Dwight Foster Public Library.

The name of the library, beautifully cut in the stone, makes an elegant statement.  It reads:  DWIGHT FOSTER PVBLIC LIBRARY.

So why does it say PVBLIC instead of PUBLIC?  What’s that all about?

I’ve been asked about that many times over the years.   People have suggested different reasons that the engraving above the front doors uses a “V” rather than a “U.”  One thought is that it was easier to carve straight lines than curved ones.  That seems plausible.   But then what about the letter “C”?  That’s a curved letter if ever I saw one.

The best explanation I’ve found is at the Henderson County Public Library website.  They are a Pvblic Library too.

Here is what it says:

According to the World Book encyclopedia, U was adopted from the Greek letter Y. The Romans dropped the bottom stroke and wrote the letter as V. This was used for both the consonant sound V and the vowel sound U. Some time around 900 A.D. people began to use V at the beginning of a word and U in the middle of a word. It was during the time between 1400 A.D. and 1600 A.D. that U became the letter commonly used for the vowel sound.

There was a Renaissance of the Classical style of architecture in the United States from 1890-1940. William R. Ware, the founder of M.I.T.’s School of Architecture, taught a style that he called American Vignola. (Vignola was an Italian architect who codified the standards for Classical Architecture in his work Rules of the Five Orders of Architecture)…

In the early 1900s, it was common for educated men to be taught both Greek and Latin. Therefore the people involved with the design of this building and many others during this American Renaissance more than likely would have known the Classic Roman alphabet used the symbol V for both U and V.

We are not the only library to be a “pvblic” library.  Pictures have been found of several other libraries where a V is substituted for a U. While their architectural style does not always match our Classical columns, domes and pediments, most of them were built during this time of American Vignola. So it is accurate to say that we were built during a time when architects and builders were embracing Classic themes. Therefore it is very likely that the engraving reads “Henderson Pvblic Library” because it was in accordance to what was popular in the architectural world at the time our library was built….

The oldest portion of our library was built in 1916.  So the timing is exactly right for this explanation.  And it makes sense that it was, indeed, an architectural statement…a “design thing.”   Henry E. Southwell of Chicago, son-in-law of Dwight Foster, who donated the funds to build a new library had only two stipulations attached to his gift.  One was that the library be of  “good design” and the other was that it be named in honor of Dwight Foster.

We’re happy to report, all these years later, that our library is still named Dwight Foster…and remains committed to the “good design” stipulation.

So DWIGHT FOSTER PVBLIC LIBRARY it is…and shall remain.  We’re good with embracing our “V”niqueness.

Lazy stonecutter? Poor speller? Or good designer?